Such a big boy!!

Our friends, Kim and Jonathan, have a beautiful daughter who turned one on March 2. We were blessed to be able to celebrate her birthday with them, and while it was so much fun to see their sweet Nora on her birthday (well, actually the day after), it blew my mind to think that in just 3 short months (less now) we'll be celebrating Caleb's 1st birthday!! Where has the time gone?? Caleb is getting so big and growing up so fast! I think it's safe to say he's making the transition from "baby" to "little boy"... and he is ALL boy! :)

Already a fan of watching the garbage man do his job ~

He has been crawling since about 7 1/2 months old, and started pulling himself up to standing not long after that. Now, he cruises along the furniture pretty quickly, and will let go and just stand by himself for a while too. AND he took a few steps the other day!! I could be wrong, but I'm guessing he'll be walking full-time pretty soon. :) But if he isn't, he gets around pretty quickly by crawling or bear-walking! (on his hands and feet with his butt up in the air... quite a funny sight, actually) :)

9 month picture with the elephant ~

He got his first hair cut a few weekends ago, thanks to my cousin Traci, and was such a big boy!! He sat in the chair all by himself, and was quite content to look around and let Traci trim the wings off the sides of his head. :) (both of our boys look like they're going to have mommy's curls... or some sort of them... sorry guys!)

He looks so little with that gigantic cape on! :)

Such a big boy!

Aaron took the boys for a ride in the bike trailer the other day, and they loved it! Micah wasn't too impressed with the bike trailer last year, but maybe if Caleb is in there too, we'll get some bike rides in this summer. :)


Aaron just downloaded a few songs by Trace Adkins, one of which is called "You're Gonna Miss This". And for as often as I find myself wishing the 'bad' days would go a little bit faster I know the words to this song are true ~

"You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"

These ARE some good times and we're loving (almost) every minute of it. :) I think we'd say we love every minute of it if the boys, well... Caleb mostly... were sleeping through the night. But this too shall pass... right? :) We have been blessed with some precious boys and every day (even those preceded by sleepless nights) is a gift to treasure!

Fishing!

I never thought I'd ever say this, but I love Bass Pro Shops! I love camping and the outdoors as much as anyone, maybe more, but that's not necessarily why I love Bass Pro Shops. They come up with some GREAT things for kids to do... and best of all, they're FREE! :) We've gotten the kids pictures taken with Santa there for the last 2 years, and just last weekend Pops and I took the boys fishing there. (well, Caleb didn't do any fishing, but he seemed fairly interested in the whole ordeal) I honestly don't know who had more fun... Micah or Pops! :)

Here they are ... waiting and watching ~


Short break for a smile (at least from Pops... Micah was pretty focused) ~


We got one!
(look just below my dad's hand, and follow Micah's gaze)

Micah really liked looking at the BIG fish in the tank at the center of the store... Pops wanted to know if they could bring the fishing poles over there ~

Here's a short video of their big catch!

What a FUN way to spend the afternoon! Thanks for joining us, Pops!

Blue Harbor Resort weekend

A few weekends ago, we packed up the boys and headed to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, for a weekend with Aaron's family. We stayed at the Blue Harbor Resort, and had a blast playing in the gigantic indoor waterpark they have there. Our boys LOVE the water, which is a good thing, because I don't think we would have had much fun (or even gone) there if they were afraid of it! :)

We all stayed in one room, which was ... interesting. I felt bad the whole weekend because Caleb still wasn't sleeping through the night at that point, and Micah woke up a few times too (probably because he was in a new place and wasn't sure where mommy and daddy were). And since the kids were up, I'm guessing the rest of the family was too...at least for the few minutes it took us to quiet them back down again. So, to the rest of the Klingenmaier family, my apologies for the lack of sleep that weekend! Next time, we'll get our own room. :)

But despite the lack of sleep, I think we all had fun. Micah went down the small kids slide about a hundred times... I literally had to drag him away when he started really staggering back to the side of the pool and up the stairs, otherwise I think he would have gone another hundred times! Aaron even took him down one of the big tube slides... which he was not a fan of... but I give the kid credit for trying it! :) Caleb was just content to splash in the shallow water, or be held by one of us in the deeper pools. Aaron sent him down the kids slide to me at one point... I'm not sure he enjoyed that too much, but he had fun too.

Enjoy the pictures! (Tracy has some more posted on her blog, here.)

The Blue Harbor Resort water park ~

Just think... only a few more months and Tracy & Eric will have their own little guy or girl to pose for pictures with! :)

One of Micah's MANY trips down the slide ~

He only needed to be caught a few times before he was ready to go it alone

Back up the stairs for more sliding ~

Here I come!!

Sleepy Caleb snuggling with Grandma ~

Splashing in the water after I dragged him away from the slide

And a few videos for your enjoyment ...

Going down the slide ~

Lookout below!!

All in all, it was a wonderful (though exhausting!) weekend with the family. The boys had a ball in the water, and it was great to have that time with Aaron's family. Thanks for the fun and for the memories! :)

Sew Much Fun!

Aaron gave me a sewing machine for Christmas this year, and I have been having so much fun with it! I'm VERY new to the art of seeing, and with the exception of a few brief 'lessons' from my mom, I'm pretty much figuring this out as I go. So far...so good, I'd say. :)

I started out with a project I found on Pinterest - a fishing game for Micah. I made the fish out of felt, and sewed Velcro on for the eyes. The hardest part of this project (and by extension, any sewing project) was turning the fish right side out after sewing them. But, with a little patience and the help of the eraser side of a pencil, I accomplished that feat. I haven't finished the pole for the game yet, but that's on my 'to do' list, and Micah's pretty creative... he's found lots of ways to play with the fish by themselves. In fact, I couldn't find them for about 2 weeks because he had packed them in his suitcase! :) Project #1 - SUCCESS! :)


My next project might have been a bit ambitious for a beginner, but I made diaper covers for the boys. Joann's has an entire aisle with everything you need to make cloth diapers, so I got the material (PUL, or Poly Urethane Laminate - a waterproof fabric), some fold over elastic, some Velcro, and a book with step-by-step instructions and pictures, and set to work. They aren't perfect by any means, but they're functional, and Micah really likes the dinosaur print! Project #2 - SUCCESS!! :)

I went with an easier project for my third try - cloth wipes. I found a tutorial online for DIY cloth wipes using receiving blankets. Heaven knows we had plenty of those lying around, and since they weren't being used I cut them into squares and sewed them together to make double thick wipes. Project #3 - SUCCESS!! (and sew easy!) ;)


Project #4 has been the most rewarding project so far, and only because they came out looking the best. :) I made fleece soakers for the boys. (for those of you who have no idea what a fleece soaker is, it's an additional protective cover used over diapers...and goes on like underpants) I had a few yards of fleece at home from a Christmas project I did, so another bonus to this is that it didn't cost anything more. :) I have to say that it's amazing how easy it is to find instructions for things on the internet. I found a free pattern and instructions, and if you're interested in making one yourself, check out this site. Again, this was very easy and took very little time to complete. (I made 2 in a few hours, and I have 2 kids demanding a lot of my attention.) :) Project #4 - SUCCESS! :)

Since I had no idea what I was doing when I purchased the material for the diaper covers, I bought WAY more of the PUL fabric than I needed. Good thing there are a LOT of things that can be made with it! :) Project #5 was reusable snack bags. I had received a few of these from a friend after Micah was born, and we love them, so I thought I'd try making some of my own. Once again, I found a DIY tutorial for the bags and set to work. They were pretty easy to make, and I'd say project #5 was another SUCCESS! :)

My most recent project was a gift for a friend who is expecting her first baby. I made a nursing cover for her. Another great find through internet searching , and fairly inexpensive to make...especially if you consider the fact that these things are sold in stores for $30 or more! Free step-by-step instructions can be found here. I don't have a picture of this project, but I have plans to make a few more before long, so I'll snap a few pics of those. :) Project #6 - SUCCESS! :)

None of these projects came out perfect when they were completed, but the moral of the story is I'm enjoying my Christmas present immensely, and look forward to learning more and getting better with practice! :)

In Other Big News...

...Caleb doesn't have much longer to be the baby in the family!! That's right... we're expecting not one but TWO new additions, due before the middle of July!

:) :) :) :) :) :)

My brother and his bride are expecting their first in early May, and Aaron's sister and her husband are due in early July. :) We are SO excited for our siblings and cannot wait to meet the new cousins!! It is such a joy to watch our family grow, and such a blessing that the cousins will be so close in age! (which is sure to make family gatherings lots of fun...and a little chaotic!) :) Congratulations, Jim and Julie, and Tracy and Eric!! We've been praying for these blessings since before they were announced and can't wait to meet them when they arrive! You all are going to be amazing parents! We love you!!

"Baby T", due around May 3, 2012

Baby Migrin (aka "Bono"), due around July 6, 2012

Ok...be honest. How many thought we were making another announcement when you first started reading? Tee hee! :)

Milestones!

The boys have reached several milestones in the months that are missing from our blog....Caleb especially. He is now 8 months old, has 4 teeth (2 on top and 2 on the bottom), and he's working on cutting a few more. He's crawling everywhere, and pulling himself up to standing already. This makes me one nervous momma, because when he's standing, he'll let go with one hand to reach for something, and has even let go completely for a few seconds! I am NOT ready for him to be walking already!! :) I really thought we had more time before he was completely vertical, but only because Micah didn't walk until a week before his 1st birthday. I suppose it's possible that Caleb won't start walking for a while yet, but I can see the motivation in his eyes, and with the way he studies Micah's every move, I'd be surprised if it takes him much longer to start walking.

**my apologies for the dark-ness of the video...it was taken at about 8:00 at night**

Happy to be on the go!


SO proud of himself!

Another fun thing to see is our boys playing together. Micah is a great big brother and is always asking if "baby do it too?" when he's playing with anything. :)





Caleb is also eating solid foods now, and now that he can really move, he makes a beeline for any food that's left within his reach!


He started clapping a little bit ago, and gets this huge grin on his face when we clap along. :)

Micah's milestones are probably not what most would consider typical milestones, but we are amazed by him, and very proud parents, so that qualifies them as milestones in my book. :)
First, he has figured out how to whistle! He's been doing this for a while now, but I was only able to get a decent video of it recently. It started when he would get excited about something and start breathing fast with his lips pursed. After a while, he started connecting his breathing with the noise he was making, and will now whistle pretty much any time he is asked. (unless he's preoccupied by something else) The funny thing is, now his whistle comes accompanied by a dance! :)

We've been taking Micah to gymnastics for over a year now, and he absolutely loves it! He is in the 24-30 month class at the gym I used to work at, and his class is just him and another boy named Shai. His teacher Miss Bonni, includes Caleb in the class too, which he loves! :) Micah is learning how to wait for his turn, follow directions, and many basic gymnastics skills... summersaults, donkey kicks, pike, straddle, butterfly, etc. The 24-30 month class does one rotation in the big gym, and Micah thinks that is just the coolest thing ever. This past week, he got to swing on a ring over the big foam pit, and jump on the big trampoline.

His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds daily, and Aaron and I find ourselves really watching what we say more than ever now that we have a little monkey who repeats almost everything we say! :) It is so fun to see him growing and learning, and we are constantly amazed at how quickly things change! Both of our boys are growing up so fast! Now I get what Kenny Chesney was saying with his song, "Don't Blink" ~

"Naw, don't blink

Life goes faster than you think"

It's amazing how fast these little ones are growing and changing, and how fast they learn new things. Even as I write this, Caleb is working on another milestone ... mastering the stairs!

Uh oh! :)